A Stressfull Week

 

Things started out reasonably well, William had a great Birthday on the 18th and was a really happy little man, running around like a loony. We had been looking forward to a nice quiet weekend and on the Saturday I cycled to Instow to let the little ones run around on the beach. Saturday night though things started to go down hill as we noticed William had a swelling on his neck, after calling NHS direct and having no joy I took the man to A&E (NHS direct finally called back 12 hours later at 0620). Anyway after three hours waiting in A&E William was admitted with an infected lymph gland. Over the weekend it kept growing until it was like half a table tennis ball sticking out of his neck. The only positive thing was that he was really happy in himself running around like a looney. After seeing a consultant on Monday he was then transferred to Bristol Children's hospital so that they could operate and cut the infection out. Debbie went with him and faced a sleepless four days up in Bristol with our little man whilst he underwent the Op.  He is a resilient little bugger though as the night after the operation he climbed out his bed and went to the Nurses station to chase the Nurses around the ward (starting young) and the first thing Debbie new about it was when the Nurses woke her up and returned the little man.Anyway we finally got to take the Little man home Friday which was really great if a bit of a stressful journey

 back from Bristol. It was great to see him back home and the first thing he did on getting home was to run over and sit on the tractor he had got for his Birthday.

 

Westward Ho!

I think November must be one of the nicest times of year to go for a bike ride. This may seem strange with the nights closing in and colder weather, however when the sun is shining and there is no wind it can be glorious. The long shadows and autumn light show off the multitude of colours in the the leaves wonderfully and the cool air stops you overheating when you are pedaling furiously.


Today was one of those days and after Debbie dropped me and William at Watergate we set of at a brisk pace with the golden glow of the last of the Autumn leaves all around. I love this time of year down the Tarka trail as the colours are so wonderful, alas I think I saw the last of them today as I don't think the leaves will last much longer.

I couldn't believe the difference with only William in the trailer, it was so much easier to pull and at one point (admittedly downhill) we hit 20mph. It was a real pleasure cycling along with no wind and lots of sunshine for once.

The plan had be for me to cycle to Westward Ho! and meet Debbie and Beth at the ball pit once they had been to the shops but as I made such good time I took William down the beach so he could have a run around on the vast open beach. He thoroughly enjoyed himself, especially when I put him back in the trailer and cycled through the surf as waves lapped around the trailer. It was a great afternoon out with a nice pint at the Waterfront to round it off and counteract all the good I did with the bike ride.

Where Has The Week Gone

I can't believe another week has gone by, where does the time go. I definitely feel that as I get older time seems to speed up. This isn't to bad when you can look back and feel that you achieved something but can be frustrating when when you can't. However the last week or so has been hectic and as I look around I am slowly ticking off the jobs.

It has not all been work though and we have had some fun. We even had a night away from the little ones which was nice, a quick trip to Roscoff and back on the Ferry, so not only a night away from the little ones but also a night at sea. As expected we both missed them and kept talking about them but it was a nice break.

The Ferry departed at 2200 so we got to the terminal at about 2000 expecting there to be a bar where we could have a pre-sail tipple, unfortunately as it was out of season the cafe in the terminal was shut. Being prepared however I had a bottle of wine and plastic glasses in the overnight bag which helped pass the time before boarding.

Roscoff itself although picturesque was a little disappointing as there is very little there, I did have a nice croissant and coffee in one of the cafes though which was relaxing and it was good to wake up in a different country.

We got home after the little ones had gone to bed so did not see them until the morning,I did smile the next day though as little Elizabeth said 'I missed you Daddy' and then gave me a big hug.

Debbie had a girly night away Friday and left me home alone with the little ones. The little monsters took pity on me and were good as gold which was nice, they were all tucked up in bed by 1900 so I could watch a bit of telly and play modern warfare on the WII in peace. It was another late night but I completed the game so I just need to master the online game now, or at least manage to survive more than 30seconds without getting shot.

As the weather was so wonderful on Saturday I took the little ones for another bike ride and thankfully managed to get to Bideford and back with no punctures.  I am just pleased that they enjoy going out in the trailer, although I wish they were a bit lighter as it is hard work pulling them along but it does me good and I am really looking forward to my next opportunity to go for a bike ride hopefully later in the week as I think the weather should be good for the second half of the week.

Punctures and Picnics

I learned a valuable lesson this weekend, don't assume a puncture repair kit that is ten years old is still ok. I had taken the little ones out for a picnic and a cycle in the trailer, after spending an hour or so getting everything ready, picnic made and cider packed we headed down to the Tarka trail on a glorious Saturday afternoon for what promised to be a great day out and a wonderful ride. I had been looking forward to the ride for a while after some really crummy weather and and really horrible week.

With the kiddies safely strapped in of we headed towards Bideford and got the grand total of about 600yds before I noticed the trailer had a puncture. So I whipped out the tools and with kiddies still in the trailer I managed to get the inner tube out. Digging through my panniers I found my puncture repair kit. It was then that things went down hill the tube of glue which looked full was in fact empty as over the years the glue must have evaporated. I suppose at least on a positive side it happened near the car park. Anyway we limped back to the car and headed down the trail to a cycle shop where I managed to get a new repair kit and after some searching managed to find and repair the puncture. So trailer repaired, kids loaded we headed of for a second attempt at the bike ride.

All seemed to be going well for the first mile but then I realised I had another puncture, just a slow one so I pushed on for another mile to the next bench. I decided to call it a day and not go any further so I unpacked the little ones and a sort of well deserved picnic. It was pleasant just sitting there and watching the world go by whilst we tucked into the picnic and the cider. OK I realise that any good I did myself with the short ride I undid with the cider, but it was Saturday so what the hell.
The little ones really enjoyed themselves as they always do and the Autumn colours were wonderful. It was nice to get down the trail before all the leaves have fallen it was just a shame I did not get further as I feel my fitness levels are starting to fall away as I have not been able to do as much exercise of late. I really must make more effort and I must get down the trail again with the little ones whilst it is still so colourful.After the picnic and re-inflating the tyre we headed for home and thankfully as it was only a slow puncture we managed to get the two miles back to the car without any snags. It turned out I had two punctures in the tyre. In future I will ensure the puncture repair kit is OK before I set off.

On the drive home the little man fell asleep so at least the bike ride tired him out, well it is exhausting sitting in the trailer. He was that tired I managed to get him into the house without waking him.
I just hope that this coming week is a good week as last week was horrible. At least we have a day trip to France to look forward to and a night away from the little ones.

So That Was October

So that was October and the end of the year is now nigh with the darker nights closing in. It has been a month of mixed emotions but through it all the little ones have kept us smiling even if the little man has more energy than the Duracell Bunny on steroids. Debbie has had a very bad month but things happen for a reason even if we don't understand why. As we move into November I am hopeing things will brighten up.
With Debbie not being well we have not really done much this month to write about, lots of house work and spring cleaning so nothing exciting. I have taken the little ones out a fair bit to get them out of Debbie's hair. It is great, if hard work, having days out with them. Beth is good as gold but William likes to try and escape and manages to get quite a speed up when he runs off.

Living where we do we are fortunate to have the Tarka trail so close, especially at this time of year as we can have a nice walk and look at all the nice colours in the trees. Only slight downside is that Beth likes to pick up the leaves which is OK until she starts putting them in my pockets so that we can take them home.

The weather has been pretty lousy but we have had a few nice days. Last Friday was gorgeous so I took the little ones and my niece down the beach for an impromptu picnic. Before I left I was a bit worried as everyone said I was brave taking three little ones out to the beach by myself but they were all good as gold. We had the picnic on Northem Burrows, a lesson learned from my previous picnic. Better to have a picnic on Grass as on the beach sand gets everywhere and a Sand-sandwich is quite unpleasant. Anyway we had a nice picnic sat on a hill overlooking the beach. The little ones had a nice run around as I sat and chilled with a couple of cans of apple juice (Strongbow), then it was down to the beach for lessons in building sand castles.

Once the sandcastles were made we then had a long trek to the sea (Anyone that knows Westward Ho! will understand) so that we could go paddling, needless to say the little ones thoroughly enjoyed themselves.As we move into November I am once again determined to make more of an effort at writing my blog as I know people read it. The blogger programme has a Stats section which shows how many people have viewed the Blog and in which countries they viewed it from. I just hope that I can make it interesting so people do read it.

Having Fun

It has been a hectic few weeks since the last time I made an addition to my blog and I have had a real insight into what Debbie has to put up with when I am away at work. As I think I mentioned in my previous blog Debbie had an op on her hand to release her Carpal tunnel. Due to the Op she has been out of action for the past few weeks so I have tried to keep on top of all the jobs, not easy with the two little ones to look after. I really don't know how she maintains her sanity.

It has not all been hard work though and the little ones although hard work at times bring a smile to my face every day. Little Elizabeth is always so keen to help, which is great although it can be stressful at times when she helps to cook dinner. Mind you we have had fun baking cookies and cakes.

Other than the brief heat wave the other week the weather has been awful but no surprise there as the weather always seems crummy when I am on leave with lots of windy and wet days, no surprise in North Devon. I have tried to make the most of the few nice days we have had though. Friday was good weather so I took the little ones for an impromptu picnic on the beach was great. We are so lucky living so close to the sea side and the little ones love it. When we got to the car park William just kept saying 'Sea Side, Sea Side'. We had a great day out, playing in the rock pools and paddling in the sea. I always find Westward Ho quite relaxing (outside the holiday season) as when the tide is out there is such a wonderful beach. This time I had taken a camping stove so I sat there drinking a nice cup of coffee as the little ones had a good run around.
With the weather it has been hard to get out for bike rides even with the trailer but I have managed to get out a few times. It is really great having the trailer and the little ones are really happy in it. Admittedly they are bribed as whenever we go out they have a cake or pack of crisps. Saturday was glorious and we got as far as Bideford which was nice. The little buggers slept all the way back so there I was pedaling furiously whilst they had a nice afternoon siesta, one has to ask who is the mug.

Over the weekend Elizabeth's Godparents came down to visit which was really nice, it is always nice to have visitors as it is not that easy visiting with the little ones. We had a really nice day with a nice lunch and then a stroll up the Green Dragon for a few pints of rattler with good company, no better way to spend an afternoon.

Little William still gets a little upset when I go out without him so when I went to move the car over the weekend to save on tears I sat him on my lap. He picked up steering really quickly as we drove down the driveway and he managed to get us through the gate posts with out hitting anything which was a relief. He does love his cars and now he has had his first driving lesson.

Time

Is it just me or does time seem to speed up the older you get. The weeks just seem to go by far faster nowadays. Now when I am at work I don't mind the time flying by but when I am home on leave I would appreciate old father time taking a more leisurely stroll rather than continue to run as if he were in a 100m sprint against the Bolt. Maybe it is just because we have little ones and they take up so much of our time it is so hard to get things done, wouldn't be without them though as they bring a huge smile to my face everyday without fail.

Time is certainly flying by this leave but at least we are finally making progress in the garden with fences going up to split the area so we have a dedicated parking area and a definite line between the parking area and the garden. Hopefully it will help focus things so that we can continue progressing the outside area while the weather is good and make it more low maintenance so that we are not constantly playing catch up with the garden.

With so much work to do all the time it is very hard to take a break as I find it hard to relax when I know there is so much to do. I really have to push myself to turn off and take leisure time so I am making an effort to ensure I have at least two bike rides a week.

It is a lot easier now we have the trailer so that I can take the little ones with me which gives Debbie a chance to have some time to herself which is good as I do think it is important to have personnel time and when I am away at sea she has very few opportunities to get away from the little ones.

We have made the most of the warm spell over the last few days as best we can as Debbie is recovering from a hand operation. As she has been in a lot of pain we have been limited with what we can do but we have managed to get outside quite a bit and the little ones have had a good run around. Today I took them out in the bike trailer down the Tarka Trail with Brenin. As the Dog was with us we only went about 7 miles but it was a wonderful afternoon. We stopped halfway and sat on a bench watching the world go by which was lovely and the can of Cider made everything nice and mellow even if I did have to fight Teddy for it.

Rainy North Devon

As usual with North Devon since I last wrote it seems to have done nothing but rain which has put a bit of a dampener on things. The weather is now looking up and I think we will be in for a good week.

We have kept busy even with all the rain but with two little ones running around it is hard not to keep busy as the chores never seem to end and the Garden just swallows up man hours without giving any noticeable results. Hopefully with the nice weather I should be able to get more done outside and hopefully get a few more bike rides with the little ones. I have now packed a camping stove in my panniers so I can make myself a nice cuppa at the half way/turn around point while the cargo (Beth and William) stretch their legs, that's the plan anyway.

We had a nice change of scene over the weekend as we went back east to the home counties to stay with Mum for the weekend and help out as she was throwing a garden party for 70 people. It was a really enjoyable weekend, lots of good food and too much cider, well actually I don't think you can ever have enough cider. Withdrawal symptoms this week though as I will be drying out again to help re-start my diet and waiting for pay day. Little William was a real star at the party, he has no fear of crowds unlike his Daddy and was quite happy mingling, finding which tables would give him the most cake, he was wonderful watch.

Although the car journey was quite long with the two little ones it wasn't to bad as I found I could read my kindle in the car. Usually if I read car maps I tend to get travel sick so it was nice to find I could read my kindle and not feel sick. I find it hard to read at home due to the little ones and back ground noise and if I read when I go to bed I tend to fall asleep during the first paragraph so to get 3 hours or so of reading in one go was a real bonus.

Well that's my cup of coffee dry so I suppose I had better get back to the grindstone and get out in the garden, but before I close I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that sponsored my bike ride, I have managed to raise £142 for Help For Heroes which I am really pleased about, so thank you all once again.

60 Miles and the Aftermath

Well I finally got of my fat arse and completed a reasonably long distance day ride on my bike. It was a hard but enjoyable 60 mile ride which is 10 miles further than my previous long ride and I managed to do it in a shade over 6 hours (not including my stop for lunch and two pints at the Tarka Inn).

The weather on the day was not great as there were a few showers and once I got passed Bideford the wind became a bit of a pain. I can never understand the wind in Devon as on the outward leg I was heading into wind so I thought, great when I turn around at Ilfracombe the wind will be behind me. No such luck, when I turned around I still seemed to be cycling into wind but at least I had a good down hill stretch from Ilfracombe to Braunton.

There were two nice down hill bits the first as soon as I left home and the second just after turning around a Ilfracombe when I was half way. Only downside was that for the last 30 miles I

knew that when I finally got near the end I had a horrible hill to climb but it was a nice achievement when I reached the top by the Green Dragon.

I did see a few strange sights down the Tarka trail, the first obviously being the North Devon Traffic Jam when the sheep escaped from the field and decided to have a jaunt down the Tarka Trail.

However I think the most disturbing sight, of the day, was as I passed Chivenor on my way home. The RM had decided to go out on a long run, unfortunately being RM they had forgotten their clothing and were running along the Tarka Trail in their undies. Needless to say I increased the speed of my peddling to regain some sense of normality.

The last 15 miles were really hard as my back started to hurt although my legs were ok, I think they had just got into a steady rhythm so were quiet happy but the back pain became really draining. Needless to say I got a great buzz when I came over the final ridge and saw the Green Dragon and Langtree.

I managed to raise a little for H4H through sponsorship, I still have a little to collect in but I am hoping that when everything comes in I will have raised at least £2 for every mile cycled.

http://www.bmycharity.com/jameswingroveH4H

The surprising thing was that the next day I wasn't suffering as much as I thought I would although on Friday the tendons in my right knee were aching a bit. The little bit of aching was worth it though as it was a great bike ride and I definitely feel that I have achieved something that a couple of years ago I would not have been able to do.

Since the ride things have been reasonably quiet as the weather has been so crummy I haven't really been able to get out and do much and since Friday poor little Beth has had a vomiting virus which she has passed on to Debbie so my two Ladies have been ill all weekend, I really hope that that little man doesn't pick it up.

Busy Few Weeks

It has been a busy few weeks with so much work to do around the house and garden it seems never ending. Debbie did a good job keeping on top of things whilst I was away but there is always so much to do as the garden is very high maintenance, just wish I could afford a gardener. We are slowly making progress in turning it into a low maintenance garden but still a few years before we get there.

The weather has been up and down a bit but not to bad although looking at the forecast for the coming week we are in for a few days of rain which is a shame. After being stuck in a metal box for six months now I am home I just want to be outside in the fresh air.

I have had a bit of downtime since I have been home, not easy with the two little ones as they are full of so much energy. Now I have the trailer I can take the little ones when I go for bike rides which is great as I get my exercise, the little ones have a day out and Debbie gets peace and quiet at home. I am lucky having the Tarka trail so close as it is so peaceful and a wonderful place to cycle as there are no cars.

It was good to be home for Beth's third Birthday, she had a great day and went to a local farm to see all the animals which she really enjoyed. It is going to be nice as I will be home for Williams second birthday in November so something else to look forward to.

Next big thing will be my planned charity bike ride, I intend to cycle 60 miles on Wednesday to raise money for Help for Heroes. Details on the following Web Page:

http://www.bmycharity.com/jameswingroveH4H

Home At Last

I have now been home a week and am slowly settling back into the new routines, it is very hard to find time as the little ones keep us very busy but it is good to be back. I really don't know how Debbie coped for the last six months by herself, if it had been me at home I think I would have ended up in a straight jacket.

Well Now I am back and have good Internet I thought I would upload a few piccys from my trip, I took all bar the pics of the three ship RAS but at least it shows a few things that we did.

It was quite a varied trip with lots of sea time which made a nice change and during the six months I was there we replenished ship's from 10 different nations.

I saw some great sunsets, but then again there is no better place to see sunset as when you are out at sea there is nothing to distract away from the majesty of the sky.

It was great to see the Wildlife although all to often I was shut away in my dungeon beavering away at the computer, trying to get through all the work. It is so very easy to ignore the beauty around you and I think it is important to try and look around with fresh eyes regularly.

After so long away though it is good to get home and hopefully I should catch the last of the summer. Since I have been back in Devon things have been quiet hectic but I have been down the beach twice with the little ones which has been great, even if William insists on running into the rock pools fully clothed.

I am slowly ticking off my wish list of things to do this leave and I am determined to be more pro-active so that we can all stay as active as possible. Time is such a precious resource and yet it is so easily squandered.

Five Days To Go

This will be my final blog entry from the ship this trip I think as the days are slipping by, I really can’t believe it is Friday again tomorrow, where has the week gone.  It is good to be almost halfway through my final week and after six months onboard things have finally quietened down.  During the last week or so I have just been tying up all the loose ends ready for the handover and all that is left now is one more planning meeting and then it will be time to pack my bags.

 

Looking back over the last six months every day has been busy but I can’t exactly say that we have achieved anything so in some ways it has been a frustrating trip but it has been really good to get so much time at sea rather than being stuck alongside in Scotland.  

 

It will be nice to get home to Debbie and the little ones, they will have changed so much by the time I get home but at least I have been able to skype and see everyone at home.  I think it will be a bit of a shock to the system being home and we will all have to get used to each others routines again.

 

I am really hoping that I have managed to loose weight this trip, on joining I had a set of scales in my cabin so I have been weighing myself however depending on how the ship is rolling dictates how I feel about myself on any particular morning as the scales aren’t accurate and tend to move quite a bit.  I think I have managed to keep my fitness up though by sitting on the exercise bike for an hour at a time while reading my book. I will only know when I try and cycle up the hill at home, I really hate cycling up hills but at least I know I can cycle up them.

 

Debbie ordered a tent last weekend so we will be able to take the little ones camping, I really hope that they enjoy it and aren’t to stressful.

 

I have certainly had good value from my kindle having read 42 books/short stories over the last six months. It really is quiet amazing what you can find for free or for pennies on the Amazon site. I must admit there have been some really crappy books but there have been some really good reads as well. I know my reading will slow down when I get home but that won’t be a bad thing as it will give my eyes a rest I seem to spend all my time in front of screens.

 

Anyway the next time I write here will be when I am surrounded by the green hills of North Devon, it will be really good to get home.

 

Emailing: Homer Quotes, Homer S Quotes, Quote s For Daily Orders

<<Homer Quotes.doc>> <<Homer S Quotes.doc>> <<Quotes For Daily
Orders.doc>>
The message is ready to be sent with the following file or link attachments:

Homer Quotes
Homer S Quotes
Quotes For Daily Orders

Note: To protect against computer viruses, e-mail programs may prevent
sending or receiving certain types of file attachments. Check your e-mail
security settings to determine how attachments are handled.

24 Days to Go

Time is certainly ticking by at the moment, we are already half way through July and my flight home is almost booked. It looks like I will finally escape around the 10^th August. Although I have been out here for six months I don’t really have much of a tan, the pleasures of locking myself in an Ops Room for the majority of the time. It is going to feel strange going home after all this time but it will be nice.

 

The sands of time really do seem to disappear more quickly year by year. Elizabeth had her first report this week from the nursery she goes to once a week.  It made really good reading and she seems to have settled in really well.  It does seem strange getting her first report and I really can’t believe she will be three in September. I am so pleased that I will be home for her Birthday.

 

Well it is starting to feel like the end of term this end. We finished our tasking on the big exercise today and have been now left to our own devices as we head a separate way to the rest of the ship’s.  It was nice being part of the task group and getting back to our core role. We were kept busy with lots of replenishments but in many ways I am pleased it is over I am one step closer to home.

 

I know the end is near as I have just finished writing my report. I must say I don’t really like these new performance report as it is never easy writing about ones self. I also doubt as to whether they are ever read as I know mine is eight pages long at present and that is before the Choff and Old Man put their comments on it. At least my bit is done so I can concentrate on my handover notes and getting things squared away for the hand over.

 

It will be good to get home and have some control over meals, the food is steadily going down hill as the food budget has been cut and the ship is in debt. There is even talk that we may loose the coffee boats in the future. I know times change and the government has to make savings but at the moment it all just seems take, take, take. Anyway once I am home I will relish being able to make fresh bread and pasta. I think I will have another go at making Ravioli, the pasta is the easy bit, I just need to make the inside bit less bland.

 

Well 24 days to go, not that I’m counting.

 

Five Months Done, One To Go

It has been a busy couple of weeks since I last wrote, time really does seem to fly by on here, I just hope that when I finally get home time slows down. At last I feel like I have broken the back of this trip as I am into my 5^th month with less than a month to go. February seems so long ago now, it almost seems a life time away.

 

Well we got in the papers yet again, thankfully this time for something we did do, chasing pirates.  It was an interesting period although the six hour watches were tiring. I know that these modern pirates are vicious buggers; you only have to read the reports of hostages being tortured. However until the nations of the world take proper action and until the companies stop paying the ransoms it is only going to get worse. Having operated in the 5m swells whilst chasing them it seems that not even the south west monsoon will stop them any more and I wouldn’t like to climb in and out of skiffs in these mountainous seas.  I think what is more worrying is that with the current droughts hitting this part of the world more people will get driven into the piracy game as a way to feed themselves.

 

Anyway after our little chase we had a port visit, the visit was to be a brief stand down but once again things got messed up.  When we arrived there had been delays in getting Dip Clear and so our arrival was delayed by a couple of days so we only got two nights alongside.  Saying that it was a nice change to be alongside for a couple of nights.  I didn’t bother going ashore as we were only allowed outside the gate until 1800 and there was no WiFi inside the port.  At least by not going ashore I can save money for my leave.

 

Back at sea for the final stint this trip; it should be a busy couple of weeks with lots of replenishments which will definitely help the time go by quickly.  It is all working out quite nicely as this first week will be busy and then things should quieten down so that in the last few weeks I will be able to write handover notes and my report.

 

It is going to be good to get home though, I just hope the weather is reasonable as I really want to take the little ones down the beach and see them running around.  Now that we have a cycle trailer they will be able to come out on my bike rides, I just hope that they enjoy them as it will give me a chance to get fit whilst entertaining the little ones. The doggy will no doubt be happy about the trailer as it will slow me down so he won’t have to run so fast to keep up.

 

I think my plan to do a long distance bike ride this leave will have to be put on hold as by the time I get settled back at home the weather will have changed and anyway I will want to spend lots of time with the little ones when I get home.  I may have a look at cycling to Dartmoor and spending one night wild camping as it is something I have said I have wanted to do for a few years but I keep putting it off.  Depending on the weather and whether I can find a cheep big tent we may even take the little ones for there first camping trip as I know Debbie would enjoy it and it would be a good experience for the little ones. There is just so much I would like to do when I get home, I know there will be jobs around the house that need doing but hopefully when I get home we will all have a bit of a break for a week or so before cracking on.

 

Well not sure how many more times I will write my blog before I come home but I will try and write at least once a week.  So until then I will enjoy what’s left of the sunshine and dream of cooler climbs.

 

Ramblings in the South West Monsoon

Since Sunday we have been enjoying the South West Monsoon in it’s fully glory, fighting our way through 35-40kt winds and being bounced around by a steep 5m swell.  As we are heading into it things aren’t that uncomfortable though and we just get the odd shudder when we take a wave at the wrong time.  Because of our tasking we have broken into watches with Navs on the 12-6 and myself on the 6-12. I must say the novelty of doing six on six off soon wears off, especially with work outside of the watches as well.  I must admit though now we are settled into them I have managed to get quite a few jobs squared away which is always good, just ashame that I haven’t managed to get to the gym in my down time. That is just me finding excuses and blaming the weather.

 

I have slowly been running out of ‘Quotes for Daily Orders’, the little one liners I put on each day. It is quite hard to find decent quotes when the internet is slower than a slug in an ice cube. However I have come across some real gems of late and am particularly fond of the one I found today which is attributed to someone called W. M. Lewis:

 

“The tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait so long to begin it.”

 

I think it is quite powerful as in modern life we can get so distracted by the pressures around us and by entertainment that we forget to live.  We worry so much about money or what the Jones’ have. We all try to conform to what is expected whilst everywhere is amalgamating so that there is no individual character anywhere as the Costa’s, MacDonalds and Starbucks appear everywhere. It is so easy to turn the TV on and lock ourselves away watching other people have adventures. We forget that there is a real world out there.  Then of course we often put things off until tomorrow, and then never do them.

 

In the grand scheme of things we are here for such a short time we need to make the most of every minute, especially in this job when for so much of the year time is not our own. I only hope that I can make the most of every minute so that when the end does come (hopefully many years from now) I can look back and say to myself that I did not wait to long for life to begin.

 

Running From Zombies

It is about ten days since I last wrote my blog, I seem to find it harder and harder to find things to write. Whether that is because I find myself in front of the computer all day or because much of the time days merge into one I am not sure.  All I know is that things have been busy since we have sailed, we have got a lot done in a short space of time with flying and gunnery serials to ensure that we maintain our currency whilst on task.  There have been some notably long days, especially last week when we had a choke point transit and Navs and I ended up staying up for 24hrs. When the morning came we had said that we would have breakfast as we thought that we would finish the transit just after 7 but as we finished at 0600 we both whimped out of breakfast, a fact that father didn’t let us forget as he had stayed up for breakfast.  Mind you it wasn’t that bad as I managed to get a lot done over the course of the transit and for once I felt that I had caught up with everything.

 

This time out the weather has been noticeably more bumpy with the South West monsoon finally setting in across the area. I had forgotten how much I hate rolling around as it does make one feel awfully tired but at least things are better now that we have our stabilisers out.  The rough weather has kept the pirates back in their camps which is good news as well.

 

I just can’t believe how quickly June is going, I definitely feel like I am on the home stretch now with August just around the corner.  I am really looking forward to getting to the airport and seeing Debbie and the little ones. They will have changed so much by the time I get home.  I just hope we have a bit of an Indian Summer so that I can take them to the beach, down the Tarka Trial and have some BBQs.  I am starting to look forward to being able to cook again as the food has got very repetitive on here with stale baguettes generally for Lunch Monday and Wednesday, Spud you dislike Tuesday, over cooked pasta bar Thursday and Battered Grey fish and chips Friday.  Saying that we usually have a nice steak (honest we have had some really good steaks not the normal shoe sole, tough as old rubber steaks that are the norm) and Sunday morning we get croissants which are always nice.  The local sliced bread is horrible, it is like white hairy cardboard, in fact it reminds me of the toy bread that Beth has in her play house.  I have made the mistake of watching some cooking programmes (The last Navs gave me a few episodes of the F Word) and I really want to make some fresh bread, fresh pasta and have a general play in the kitchen.

 

I have decided that I need to be more careful with what I watch and read before I go to bed at night as I have been having some very strange dreams. Yesterday I watched Shutter Island (definitely worth a watch even though it had Leonardo Di Caprio as the main character) which was quite disturbing and then I continued reading the ‘Diary of the Displaced’ which is a very strange book but quite intriguing. Needless to say all sorts was going on in my dreams, running away from Zombies and leaving suitcases in a hotel room which was identical to my cabin.  No wonder I woke up feeling like a bag of wotsit.  I think I will find a gentler book to read when I have finished this one.

 

Well that’s about it for now, off for a bike ride in a bit to read my book. At least if there are any zombies in it I can pretend I am cycling away from them which is much more civilized and far more effective than running from them.

 

Back at Sea

It has now been a week since we escaped from our AMP port, it was nice to have a bit of a stand down and it was especially good to get on Skype and see the little ones.  However after the frustrating weeks over run it was good to get back to sea, well at least until we hit the tail end of a cyclone and got thrown around for a few days. The forecasts had been a little out so the weather was worse than expected. The first night the wires holding the bridge awning parted and spent the night banging against the bulkhead outside my cabin, keeping me awake all night. Thankfully the next morning I managed to grab hold of it and with some help we got it secured. I think the worse bit though was trying to work in the Ops room as my chair is adjustable but with the motion of the ship it felt like I was sitting on top of a pogo stick, which is fine if you want to bounce around but no good if you are trying to type at a keyboard.

 

I have achieved one of my aims for this trip and have managed to save up for a bicycle trailer for the little ones. I only got a cheep one for £70 pounds but it should do the job and doubles as a push chair.  Debbie has put it together and it sounds as if it is really light which is good. More importantly the little ones seem to like it which is good. I am really looking forward to taking it down the Tarka trail, it will be nice to be able to cycle to Instow and watch them play on the beach while we have a nice Ice cream. Instow is only about 10 miles away on the Tarka trail so should be able to do it in a hour easily. I suppose next year little Beth should be big enough to start riding a little bicycle with us, I am looking forward to teaching them how to ride.

 

Well now we are back at sea the work load has gone through the roof again, we seem to be swamped by emails and signals and they come in as fast as we can clear the ques, saying that though I am definitely on the downhill stretch though with two months left to go and a reasonable programme to keep me busy for the next two months.

 

You've Gone To Far This Time

I have just finished a superb, and inspiring read, ‘You’ve Gone Too Far This Time, Sir!’ by Danny Brent.  The book describes the journey he made from London to Chembakolli in India, it was 15000km from A to B and he travelled the whole way by bicycle.  I must say I did try and get into the spirit of the book by doing my usual trick of sitting on the exercise bike in the Hangar whilst I read it and it certainly helped me pass the time as I cycled for an hour, which when it is over 40Deg is going some.

 

To cycle that distance, much of the time with no company and across some quite rough terrain I think is amazing. The book really painted the picture of the different countries and cultures that he passed and I thought he managed to express the emotions felt during the journey really well. 

 

I think what is even more thought provoking is how he got treated on the journey by total strangers.  People who have very little compared to those in Europe openly welcomed this chap into their homes throughout his journey, well basically from Eastern Europe onward.  You wouldn’t see that happen in the UK, very few people would invite a total stranger into their house, feed them and give them a bed for the night. Most of us would probably just cross the road and ignore the traveller or automatically be suspicious and think the worse of someone. Yet throughout this mans journey people with nothing put a roof over his head and fed him, asking nothing in return.  Perhaps this does show that humanity has hope after all and maybe we could all learn something from this.

 

I know I could never undertake such a journey as I wouldn’t want to be apart from my family for that amount of time, (I know I am away when I am at sea but not for that length of time) it has made me even more determined though to one day cycle from Lands End to John O Groats need to get a little fitter before I even think of doing that though. Anyway it was a great book and would recommend it as well worth a read.

 

Forty Degrees and Rising

It reached 40Deg C again today so it is certainly warming up out here and it is not even July yet.  I looked in the log today and yesterday it had topped 43Deg so no wonder it felt a tad toasty when I had a wander ashore.  I really do not know why anyone would want to live in this heat with the constant sunshine and no seasons.  I know today with the advent of air conditioning people can stay inside but how they coped years ago I will always wonder.  I assume that being a nomadic people they moved around to try and find cooler areas dependent on time of year.

 

We have now been alongside for a week and the novelty is wearing off, I just want to get back to sea now, purely for selfish reasons as I am a lot busier when we are at sea so the time goes by quicker.  I know when we are alongside I can get up to the coffee shop for Skype but that just makes me feel more home sick as I miss everyone back home.  It is quiet funny doing Skype though as the little man tends to wonder about and when I am skype he comes up to the study door and peers around it with a smile on his face as if to say ‘hello what’s Daddy doing on the computer’.  Where as little Beth just sits there and plays peek-a-boo.

 

As we have been alongside I haven’t been doing my daily intel briefs which has been quite nice as it does cut my work load down.  However I thought I had better just bring myself up to speed again today and as usual I have come to the conclusion that the world really is a depressing place.  Why can’t we all just learn to get on, work together and build a brighter future, why is there so much misery in the world.  The scary thing is I think things are only going to get worse, or at least they are not going to get any better.  Oh to be back in the Green Dragon with a pint of Rattler and the little ones running around.

 

It’s not all bad though as I am still managing to get up the gym most days, although it is bloody warm cycling in the hangar.  I am quite chuffed with myself though as I managed to do 40 minutes today which doesn’t sound a lot but when the temperature is up near 40Deg it is quite hard going.  I am still keeping myself amused by reading the Kindle whilst I cycle and I can’t believe I have read over twenty books this trip so far which just shows how great the kindle is as those books would have weighed a ton in the suitcase.  I had been running short on the ones I had downloaded but having got up to the coffee shop I have managed to download a few more. Needless to say I am still being a skin flint and I tend to go for the free ones although I do occasionally splash out and get the ones that are a couple of quid.  The nice thing about going for the free ones is that I am reading all sorts of styles and authors that I hadn’t necessarily heard off before, admittedly some are pants but generally they are all good reads. The latest freebie that I have downloaded looks really good and is about a chap that cycled from London to India, hopefully it should be a good yarn but it does put my longest cycle of 50miles to shame.    

 

Well that’s about it for today, I am off to mope about my cabin and get upset as the telly has just gone off, typical as Doctor Who was supposed to be on tonight. Hopefully it will get reset in time.                                                                                         

 

Alongside and all is quiet.

It is surprising how quickly things quieten down once we get into port. We have now been alongside for five days and I seem to have finally caught up with all my work so that I no longer feel the need to start work at 0615ish in the morning.  After the hectic time at sea it is good to get some down time, although it will be good to get back to sea at the end of the month.

 

We have a good bus routine into town so it is nice and easy to get in to go on Wi-Fi. It was really good to see Debbie and the little ones on Skype and to play peek-a-boo with Elizabeth. It does make it hard though as I am missing so much of the little ones growing up.

 

I really thought it would be easy to write my blog this trip, however I think it gets harder each time. Firstly I always have to be careful about what I write for security reasons. Secondly I seem to be sat in front of computers most of the day so I find it hard to write. I really must make more of an effort. Perhaps I just need a good blow out to clear my head, unfortunately there is no cider onboard at the moment, hopefully we will get some before we sail.

 

So Near and Yet So Far

It has now been 67 days since we sailed and we have once again anchored of a port where we were supposed to go alongside.  I think many are getting frustrated now because we can see land but we can’t go ashore.  As the port had no berth for us we have tweaked our programme slightly as they offered us a berth on the 1^st May for 48 hours so we will finally get alongside to load some fresh stores.  It does seem strange that we sailed in February and we aren’t going to touch land until May, ah well at least it is sunny.

 

Over the next few days we have quite a large change over of crew which is going to be strange as there will be lots of new faces onboard; I just hope that the people coming in are as friendly as the people that are going. I always find it a little unsettling when you get use to working with a group and then everyone changes. 

 

As always with this part of the world everything has been a bit of a cluster, we are not allowed to run our own boat to shore so we have been reliant on the harbour tugs to conduct the crew change over.  Needless to say the bureaucracy in the port immigration those going home all missed their flights and have so been put into hotels until new flights can be booked.

 

If and when we do get alongside it is just my luck that I am duty so won’t get ashore the first day and I don’t think I will bother the second day as the country we are going to doesn’t allow Skype so there is no real point of going up the road.  Anyway we get into our AMP port the following week and that country does allow Skype so I will be able to get ashore and see the little ones and Debbie which I am looking forward to.

 

The Donkey

As it is Palm Sunday I thought I would share this poem as it is one I have always liked.

 

THE DONKEY – by  G.K. Chesterton

When fishes flew and forests walked 
And figs grew upon thorn, 
Some moment when the moon was blood 
Then surely I was born; 

With monstrous head and sickening cry 
And ears like errant wings, 
The devil's walking parody 
On all four-footed things. 

The tattered outlaw of the earth, 
Of ancient crooked will; 
Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, 
I keep my secret still. 

Fools! For I also had my hour; 
One far fierce hour and sweet: 
There was a shout about my ears, 
And palms before my feet. 

 

 

55 Days at Sea

We have now been at sea for 55 Days and the days are certainly blurring into each other but our next port is in sight in two weeks time. People are certainly getting tired onboard now and although there was a bit of griping a couple of weeks ago everyone is still getting on well. It helps that we have a good crowd onboard and everyone seems to get on.

Needless to say we have well and truly run out of all the fresh produce that we picked up when we were at anchor last month. Saying that the food is still good and its Sunday tomorrow so croissants for breakies, something to look forward to.

We have been through some really large schools of dolphins this week which have been amazing, we went through one school yesterday and there must have been well over 100 dolphins. (Have tried to attach photo, hopefully this time it has worked, if not when we get in to somewhere with WiFi I will upload some)

The sights we can see at sea are amazing and do give hope that it is not all bad in the world. I get tired of reading about all the violence that is tearing this region apart as every day I give a morning brief on what is happening in this part of the world. I am sure that when all these protests finally come to their conclusion the world will be a very different place.

I do find it interesting though, how the different newspapers are reporting what is happening and you can definitely see the different types of spin placed on the same stories by the western papers, Al Jazeria and the Tehran Times. The question is will all the posturing by different politicians become a self fulfilling prophecy or will they realise that they approaching the brink and stop before they jump off the cliff like a load of lemmings.

One thing is certain though and that is that the world is changing rapidly and I just hope that when the dust does settle and new regimes emerge that they are better than what went before. This is my hope as the world needs to learn to work together to resolve the environmental and economic storms that are approaching in the next 30 years or so. We must remember that there will always be hope as that is what was left in Pandora’s Box.

Other than work things have been somewhat stressful this week as I have been worried about Debbie, I rang home on Monday and she had had to go to the Doctors, they had been really concerned and were close to sending her into hospital but because I was away she persuaded them not to send her in because of the little ones. She did however have to go back in to the Doctors a few times during the week, but she is now much better which is a real relief and at least my Mum had been visiting so at least there was someone there the first day she fell ill.

I also had an interview for a shore post during the week, this interview had been postponed twice for numerous reasons over the last month and so by the time I took the interview I was a little tired. I actually think it went OK and thankfully our comms stayed in for the whole time. I must admit I was a little shaky afterwards but at least it is over now and hopefully I should hear how I did in the next week or so.

Well only twelve days or so and we will be back in the land of the Land Lubbers, it is going to be a bit strange after so long at sea but hopefully we will get alongside so we can have a proper stand down as I think we all need it.

A Quiet Sunday Afternoon

I have had my first quiet afternoon since joining and it has been quiet pleasant. Although I have plenty of work to be getting on with I thought that for once I would stay shut away in my sound proofed box all day. I must say I am feeling quite mellow now which is nice.

 

Well being Sunday we held our weekly church service and our numbers doubled today as four attended.  It is nice just to have that one quiet time each week to reflect on the world around us.  I do feel more at peace now than I have done for a long time and I think that is because I force myself to ensure I have at least 10 minutes of reflection every day.  I still find it hard as there are always so many distractions but I do notice now that if I don’t have my ten minutes I end the day far more stressed.

 

I spent a few hours reorganising the photos of the little ones on my computer so that when I get home I can make up a couple of albums. It is amazing how much they have changed over the last couple of years and I still can’t believe how small they were.  I just can’t wait to get into port in the middle of the month so that I can go on skype.

 

Well as always the news is depressing, it just seems constant violence everywhere and I often wonder if there is any hope for humanity or are we destined to wipe ourselves out, either by war or ecological abuse.  It is a shame that we are so violent as the world we live on is such a magical place and it doesn’t take much to remind us of this. Today I went up to the focsle to watch the flying fish again. They were amazing as they left criss-cross patterns ahead of us. The sea was as smooth as silk and so they managed to fly some phenomenal distances, I watched one and it must have gone at least 500m.

 

Whilst on the focsle I also saw something that I have never seen before, loads of crabs swimming on the surface. I was quite surreal for as we passed them they would wave their claws and it looked as if they were waving at us.  No doubt they were actually trying to swim for their lives away from this great big ship steaming towards them, but it did look like they were waving at us, it was quite funny really.

 

Well we are now starting our seventh week at see and it is going to be another busy week which is good.  It is far better for a ship to be at sea working I think as everyone seems happier onboard. Also I think by being at see the trip goes a lot quicker. Well I will write again later in the week and hopefully when we get into port I will be able to put some photos in my blog if I can get WiFi access.

 

42 Days at Sea and Counting

It has now been 42 days since we sailed. It seems quite strange thinking that we sailed in February and it is now April. I really can’t remember the last time I was at sea for this long, it really makes a nice change from my last few trips when we spent most of the time alongside. Although as ever it is hard being away from Debbie and the little ones.

 

It has, as ever been incredibly busy onboard but it is good working with lots of different nations, so far since sailing we have refuelled Brits, Dutch, Danish and French ships and should be doing Italian and Spanish ships in the coming week.

 

It does get a bit depressing watching all the news out here though and watching the region erupt in turmoil. It seems every week a different country is on the verge of following in the foot steps of the Libyans. I do however have a theory of why this is happening. It is basically down to the weather, out here it is quite warm and so as people get hot they get tetchy and decide to go out and fight each other, where as if you look in places like Norway where it is cold people feel it is better to stay indoors in the warm, rather than go out in the snow to fight.  If we expand the theory a little further and look at the UK, it is neither too hot, or too cold but it does rain a lot which is why for years we built an empire trying to find somewhere that was a bit dryer.

 

As always there has been some wonderful wildlife around and as the sun set last night we were surrounded by a huge school of Dolphins. It was really great watching them frolicking in the bow wave. I had taken my camera down to get some shots but as the light levels were low I didn’t manage to get any reasonable ones.

 

Anyway that’s about it for today’s blog so until next time good bye.

 

36 Days at Sea

We have now been at sea for 36 days, and we are still steaming around in circles.  We were supposed to have a 3 day port visit last week but as the embassy messed up our DipClear we ended up just going to anchor.  After the first day there was a limited boat routine during the working day but needless to say with everything else going on I didn’t manage to get ashore.

 

It has been a long time since I spent so long at sea without a port visit and it will be another three weeks until we are programmed to get back in. It is not so bad though as everyone has settled into a nice routine and it can be quite peaceful at times.  As we are now getting later in the year the temperatures are starting to warm up quiet nicely. It was about thirty degrees the other day so it gets quite toasty on the exercise bike in the hangar.  With the warmer weather there is less wind and so the sea is like a mill pond. Glassy smooth as far as the eye can see.  We are still seeing quite a few flying fish, and the other day we passed through a school of them and about thirty or forty all took of at once, it was stunning but unfortunately I was to late with my camera so didn’t get any shots.

 

We have had some engineers out to mend the phone system and although it still has many faults it is now working of a fashion. I actually managed to have a clear call home the other day which was nice. Although I am looking forward to getting in, in the middle of next month so that I can use skype.

 

There is still lots happening onboard so I am being kept very busy, it seems every day I have a plan at 0600 of what I will get done but come 0800 when everyone else is up it all changes. I do prefer to be kept busy though as it makes the time go by so much quicker and all the days just merge into one.

 

I have managed to get some reasonable phots over the past few weeks which I had hoped I could put in the blog when I email it, unfortunately this doesn’t seem to work so I will just have to upload them next time I get on the internet proper.

 

Well I think this will be an interesting week, which is a good thing as we will hopefully get more direction. Also mid week I have an interview for a shore post with the battle staff, which I really hope goes well as it is based in Plymouth so I should be able to commute.